Rent Restructuring

Lord Whitty: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their assessment of the consequences over the next 10 years, or other convenient medium-term period, of the policy of rent restructuring in those inner London boroughs where it has been implemented on (a) average rents of council tenants in current price terms; (b) the relative levels of council tenant rates as against rent in the private sector; and (c) the relative levels of council tenant rates as against rents for tenants of other registered social landlords.

Baroness Andrews: The average weekly council rent in London in 2003–04 (the latest year for which we have audited figures) is £65.08. The equivalent figure in the private rented sector is £134 based on HB data. We cannot predict rent rises in the private rented sector with total certainty, but we expect social rents to be less than half of those charged for equivalent properties in the private rented sector in 2011; social rents are and are expected to remain well below those in the private sector. Since 1997 council and housing association rents in London have risen less than half as quickly as private sector rents.
	The average housing association rent in London in 2003–04 was £69.86. One of the main aims of our policy on social rents is to harmonise rent levels within the social rented sector so that council rents and housing association rents for similar properties should be broadly the same. The three-year review of the rent restructuring policy recommended changes to the policy which would impact on average rents over the next 10 years. The Government will be making an announcement shortly on the outcome of the three-year review.

Royal Household: Forms of Transport

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What advice they give the Royal Households in connection with the costs of alternative forms of transport for use in carrying out official duties.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Under the terms of the financial memorandum of understanding agreed between the Department for Transport and the Royal Household governing the grant-in-aid for official royal travel by air and rail, the Household are required to have regard to the following key criteria before deciding upon the form of transport:
	Safety
	Security
	Value for money
	Length of journey
	Transport which is consistent with the requirement and dignity of the occasion taking into account whether the aircraft landing site is in the public eye
	Represents the most effective use of the Royal Family's time, and which minimises disruption to others
	In deciding which journeys are made in pursuance of Royal functions, the Household has produced its own internal detailed guidance on the travel to be funded by the grant-in-aid. This guidance which is agreed with the Department for Transport requires the consideration of suitable available travel options with any decision being made in accordance with the above criteria.